Born January 26, 1928 in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, Geraldine Randall Stewart died on Thursday, October 1, 2015 in the care of her family at home in Oberlin, Ohio. She grew up on a farm near the ocean and had an enduring curiosity for the natural world, which she passed on to her children and grandchildren. After graduating from Fairhaven High School, Geraldine attended Marietta College in 1946, where she met her husband Bill Stewart. Between 1949 and 1970, they had eight children. Over the period from the early-1950s to the mid-1960s, the family lived in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Buffalo, New York, and Sistersville, West Virginia before moving to a small dairy farm on the Ohio River just north of Sistersville.
Life on a dairy farm with six children (ages 2–12) was challenging and full. Often in summer, everything on the table at dinner was produced, harvested, cooked, and baked on the farm. Geraldine became a 4-H leader, and she founded the first 4-H club in Sistersville, West Virginia. 4-H projects, 4-H camp, and the Tyler County Fair were important parts of Stewart family life. For Geraldine, the farm became a place to connect with woods, creeks and meadows. Her son Jeffrey, who died in 2002, is buried there.
In 1967 the family moved back to Marietta, Ohio where she completed her degree in education and biology, and gave birth to twins (Ben and Eric). She divorced her husband in 1977. In 1980, she and the twins moved to Oberlin, Ohio. Geraldine lived in Oberlin for 35 years, longer than she had lived in any other place. In addition to working as a substitute teacher in the public schools, she worked at NACS and the Coop Bookstore. She nurtured her interest in plants as a regular on the botany walks led by the late Dr. George T. Jones.
The practice of yoga was an essential part of her life for more than 40 years. Cooking and baking made manifest her love for her family and friends, and her orange-carrot cookies were featured on the menu at Zuni Café (in San Francisco) as “Geraldine Cookies.”
Survivors include her children Michael Stewart of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cynthia Stewart of Oberlin, Barbara Stewart (John Whistler) and Patrick Stewart, both of Marietta, Ohio, Matthew Stewart (Kelli Bittner) of Lewisburg, West Virginia, Eric Stewart of Oberlin, and Benjamin Stewart of New York, NY; grandchildren Heather Stewart Harvey (Ben Harvey) of Swannanoa, NC, Josephine and Nora Stewart of New York, NY, Adam Stewart of Lewisburg, West Virginia, and Isabelle Marinchick, of Chardon, Ohio; great-grandchildren Oscar and Retta Harvey of Swannanoa, NC; and siblings Leonard and George Randall of Mattapoisett, MA, and Eunice Stolecki of East Longmeadow, MA, and many nieces and nephews.
She is predeceased by her brother Lewis (Pat) Randall, her ex-husband Bill Stewart, and her son Jeffrey Stewart.
On November 7th, at 2:00 PM, there will be a memorial in Oberlin, Ohio at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 355 E Lorain St. A memorial is also planned for Mattapoisett this summer.
Donations in Geraldine’s memory may be sent to the Mattapoisett Historical Society at 5 Church Street, Post Office Box 535, Mattapoisett, MA, 02739.